Olivier Sarbil

Since working for CGTN, Olivier has covered many of the major news stories in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in recent years, with CGTN correspondent Kate Parkinson.

Olivier was on the frontlines of the Libyan revolution, the war in Syria, the battle against ISIL in Iraq and spent six months covering the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine.

He was also in Mali during France’s military intervention to beat back jihadists and was on the ground in Central African Republic when French troops were deployed to stop interethnic violence spiralling into a genocide.

Olivier was also in Paris and Brussels to cover the recent terror attacks, and has extensively covered the refugee crisis in Europe as well as in Lebanon and Jordan.

Before moving to Paris, Olivier was based in Bangkok where he covered the ethnic conflicts in Myanmar and the Thai military’s bloody crackdown on protests in Bangkok.

In 2011 Olivier was seriously injured in Sirte, Libya, when a group of rebels he was filming was hit by an RPG. He spent eight months in hospital and lost part of one hand.

He was nominated for the prestigious Royal Television Society Television Journalism Awards Camera Operator of the Year in 2016 for his work in eastern Ukraine.

Olivier also was a finalist for the Rory Peck Award for News. Judges said of his work,“He uses light beautifully so the camerawork is amazing – almost cinematic – beautifully framed and atmospheric so it conveys the emotions of the people there.”

The award is named after Rory Peck, a freelance cameraman that covered wars and supplied footage to a range of news organizations. He was killed in Moscow in 1993 while filming a gun battle.

Privacy Settings

This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience. Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. You may change your settings at any time. Your choices will not impact your visit.

NOTE: These settings will only apply to the browser and device you are currently using.